Archaeology
- Anthropology
Mysterious foreigner may have ruled ancient Maya kingdom
Bone chemistry suggests one of the early rulers of the Maya kingdom Copan and his retainers had foreign credentials.
- Archaeology
Ancient stone-tool making method arose multiple times
Hominids in both Africa and Eurasia independently invented a flake-tool technique hundreds of thousands of years ago, countering a long-held idea in archaeology.
- Science & Society
Syria’s World Heritage Sites severely damaged by war
Satellite images reveal that five of the country’s six World Heritage Sites have suffered damage and some structures have been completely destroyed.
- Archaeology
Pyramid builders could have used rolling blocks
Instead of sliding blocks on a ramp, ancient Egyptians could have rolled the massive bricks to the pyramids, a physicist suggests.
- Archaeology
More signs emerge of New World settlers before 20,000 years ago
Controversial stone tools of pre-Clovis humans have been excavated in South America.
- Genetics
Long before Columbus, seals brought tuberculosis to South America
Evidence from the skeletons of ancient Peruvians shows that seals may have brought tuberculosis across an ocean from Africa.
- Anthropology
Earlier dates for Neandertal extinction cause a fuss
Revised dates suggest Neandertals coexisted with modern humans for several thousand years in Europe before disappearing 40,000 years ago.
- Anthropology
Origins of Egyptian mummy making may predate pyramids
Preservative mixture for mummy wrapping found on linens that covered the dead as early as 6,300 years ago.
- Anthropology
Clovis people may have hunted elephant-like prey, not just mammoths
The ancient American Clovis culture started out hunting elephant-like animals well south of New World entry points, finds in Mexico suggest.
- Anthropology
Neanderthals reveal their diet with oldest excrement
50,000-year-old fossil poop hints at Neanderthals’ omnivorous, but meat-heavy, diet.
- Humans
Skulls reveal Neandertal’s hodge-podge genealogy
A new analysis of ancient hominid skulls reveals a patchy anatomical start of the Neandertal lineage.
- Archaeology
First pants worn by horse riders 3,000 years ago
A new study indicates horse-riding Asians wove and wore wool trousers by around 3,000 years ago.
